The part that I love about the second set is how it all just blends together. Like how they tease songs that they just played. If you have never listened to this show before, its hard to keep track of what song they are actually playing.

we are all being pursed. some have been found, some are still running. some will keep running until they get to the end of the road, straight off the proverbial cliff. you don't have to turn back, you just have to turn around.

This show has always been in top 5 faves, waaaay before it became an official release. Indespensible FUN! They repeated it the next year in Dallas IMHO.

Rumor is that Trey and Mike got in an argument before second set and so Trey is fucking with Mike the whole set (check out how he butts in on Mike's Song with riffs from other tunes and repeatedly saying "Mike's Song...it's his song...it's Mike's Song"). I, for one, don't buy this rumor...I think it's just Trey being playful. Whatever the catalyst, he takes off into left field and you can actually HEAR the band trying to keep up with him. Trey leads them down all kinds of different and diverse alleyways. I listened to this a few weeks ago. The way he quotes so much of his own catalogue in solos and riffs throughout the set is mind boggling!!! And you can totally hear the fest of the band trying to keep up. This was IN NO WAY a planned set. I'm sure some of the tunes were on a setlist, I just find the audio evidence too compelling and obvious not to realize that Trey is off on a tangent. And they just followed him. Testament to how fucking amazing this band was in 1993!!!!!!!

The next year at The Bomb Factory, it is on again, but this time the other guys are much better prepared and ready for the onslaught of Anastasioisms!!!

i agree this is one of my all time fav's just b/c of the showcase trey puts on in that second set, it all flows so well too... pure improv genius, it really is one of a kind... and by phish standards that means a lot a lot a lot

if you haven't heard this show before, do yourself a favor and listen to it.... NOW

Yeah you're right. The word I should have used was confusing. All the teases just sound out of place, if you don't know they are actually just playing other songs, which is of course the most exciting thing evar.

one of my favorite shows of all time 2nd set may be one of the best sets ever...

Wilson is sick (simpsons signal taboot)the Reba is just hands down one of the best ever, the tension release part of the jam is bone-chillingTweezer -> Walk Away-> Tweezer....enough said right there Glide has tweezer teases as does just about every song this setMike's Song is full of teases and quotes can tell the guys are just letting it all hang out and havin a blast, trey is all over the place and the guys follow suit

Because of a current discussion of 4/4/98, I went searching the net for some of my Phish posts of old, and found this one on a Google archive of the rec.music.phish newsgroup. Oddly enough, I posted it on 3/11/98, less than a month away from the Island Tour ..........................

Ryan Stroud, Reba, Metagroove, and Tongue

Regardless of the temperature, it's nice to see the sun again.I was flamed once on the rmp for publicly lauding Charlie Dirksen for hisknowledge of Phish's music and intelligent reviews of the shows. I wasimmediately taken aback by the comments which referred to my tongue being sofar up a certain part of Charlie's anatomy. I attempted to look at myself inthe light of the criticism and examine why I had made the initial comments.

Prior to the post, I had entered into a round of exchanges directly withCharlie about "disclaimers", analytical reviews vice concert "experiences", andjust his general take on the whole Phish phenomenon. From these exchanges, aninitial skeptical attitude toward what I viewed as a serious ego on his part,dissipated into a firmer understanding of a very helpful and typically Phishyfriendly guy from San Francisco. The post I wrote was more a public apologyfor my own shortsightedness.

I don't really expect that what I'm about to say is going to be taken much thesame way, but I wanted to preface my remarks to say that my praise of RyanStroud could really be laid upon most of you. I have seen more kindness andpositivism from this community in the past six months than I have seen in thepast six years, and I'm continually astounded by it. What drives me into thisfit of adulation for Ryan and the rest of you, is of course, the music. Inthis specific case, Reba from 2-20-93 II.

In January, like most of the offers for B&P that I receive, Ryan emailed medirectly after reading one of my posts about the 12/29 MSG show. We hadconnected several times before on different rmp topics, but this was his firstoffer to spin for me. I had some marginal knowledge about him; a music studentat a school in Center City, Philadelphia, not yet twenty-one, and active enoughto organize a net gathering prior to the Philly shows in December. Being amusician, he responded to some of my rmp requests to better understand thetechnical details of Phish's music. He was always happy to engage and explainas best he could to this musical dummy.

I sent Ryan the two tapes and mailer for his offer of the 12/29 show, and abouttwo weeks ago he sent me back my tapes, plus what he called, a surprise. Thesurprise turned out to be two extra tapes which he considered "special"performances. One was 12/14/95 II Binghampton, and the other was the Atlantashow I mentioned above. I had received at about the same time, several tapesfrom other equally as wonderful people (Thanks Casey White, Dave Bristol andChris Bertolet), and among them the 12/2 and 12/3 shows which I had waited along time to hear. So pretty much, over the past couple of weeks, I hadn't hadthe chance to listen to Ryan's "gifts".

The 2-20-93 set II starts out Wilson, Reba, Tweezer. Now I don't have a wholelot of tapes, yet, and most of them are later than ‘93. When the Wilsonstarted, I was pretty much surprised by the "looseness" of the performance, butsurprised in a tremendously good way, to say the least. I almost didn'trecognize the animated spirit that pervaded the execution of the song. I beganto experience that which I have only begun to read about in some of theformalized writings about Phish. Last month I read the Phishing Manual, andthis past weekend, Marie picked up Go Phish for me. But reading about how theband developed and evolved into what I experience now on stage, barely toucheson the energy and excitement of those earlier performances. The ‘93 Atlantaperformance isn't all that early, but there was a quality in that show thatI've never heard before. And I'm even more impressed with these guys thanever, and feel more and more like a latecomer, uninitiated interloper into alongstanding intimate relationship between a group of musicians and a group ofmusic appreciators.

By the time Reba came on during the drive home on that dreaded Garden StateParkway, I was awake, aware and anticipating anything and everything. Andwithin a very short time, I got it. Reba jumped off that tape and into my soulwith a life so different from what I had previously known as Reba. These guysare truly in love with the music. You could hear it and sense it with everynote. Beneath the "known" notes and lyric of the song, they exuded their ownenergy and excitement evident in the "under breath" exclamations as theyreveled in their own sounds. It seemed like they were in a self feeding frenzyas they sensed their own energy, and responded to it by kicking it up anothernotch. Truly, truly amazing musical mastery. The attitude carried over intothe "composed" beginning of Tweezer. Even the composed part took on anotherlife. There were lyrical exchanges going on as responses to the composedlyrics. Incredible stuff.

I pulled up in front of my house and couldn't turn off the engine until the endof that side of the tape. I sat for nearly twenty minutes in my truck, inabsolute awe of a band, who I thought, I had a pretty good handle on. Sillyme. My eyes were opened a little wider to yet another aspect of what Phish isabout, and once again, I fall back upon my sword as I confess to not knowingshit about anything that's going on here. This is such powerful emotion in methat it drives me back to this keyboard to scream to all of you, one more time,how wonderful this tape made me feel.

And I have Ryan Stroud to thank for this.

He recognized something special in this show and from his own resources of timeand money, took what was something meaningful to him and gave it to me. Ryan,I recognize your gift, and shared in your excitement of this performance. Itgot me in touch with myself a little bit more, and touched me in ways that fewgifts have ever been able to. Your kindness will remain with me for a time toolong to measure. In a meager response to your kindness, let me provide thefollowing:

On Friday April 10 at 8pm at Laurie Wagman Hall on Broad Street in downtownPhiladelphia, Ryan's band, Metagroove, will be doing a free concert. He andhis fellow band members have been together for over six months together, andaccording to Ryan, their music is "umm...complex as hell, and highlyimprovisational". From what I understand, Patrick Donahue has been helpingRyan promote the band around town. If you are in the Philadelphia area, andwant to hear a fellow Phish fan reach in and express his soul, all I can tellyou, that if he succeeds only slightly, you are bound for a wonderfulexperience.

So thanks again, Ryan, for your gift. I can't wait to hear the Binghamptontape. I'm also planning on making the drive to Philly next month to hear yoursound. Thanks again to all of you, cause Ryan represents what is best aboutyou also. And if this sounds like my tongue is at it again, so be it. I'll bean AK for anyone who turns me on to great music and makes my life a little moremeaningful!

As usual,bill

........................i know a room of musical tunes,some rhyme, some ching, most of them are clockwork.let's go into the other room and make them work. - barrett

Here's your ticket pack your bagTime for jumpin' overboardThe transportation is hereClose enough but not too far,Maybe you know where you areFightin' fire with fire